This invention relates to new and useful improvements in climate control means for vehicles, and is more particularly concerned with control means for adjusting air flow in a driver's compartment.
Trucks and passenger cars, as well as other vehicles, are equipped with climate control means for directing air specifically to the operator's compartment. A choice of outside or recirculated air is often present. The climate control means include ducts that have an air inlet, outlets for the air in the driver's compartment comprising an outlet directed toward the floor, a defrost outlet directed toward the inner surface of the windshield, and outlets for intermediate vents. Heater means are incorporated in the ducts and many systems also incorporate air conditioning means. The ducts are associated with a plurality of doors for selectively directing the moving air as commanded by a climate control panel usually provided on the dashboard. These doors, upon being moved to suitable open and closed positions, or intermediate positions, provide for outside or recirculated air, vent flow, a combination vent and floor flow, a combination floor and defrost flow, and defrost flow.
The area behind the dashboard is usually very limited and thus drive means for the climate control means must adapt to this small space. Electric and air operated controls are frequently used and can be compacted in this limited area since they can utilize remote out-of-the-way drive means. However, where electric and air drive means are not practical, manual drive means, such as push-pull cables are used, and such manual systems are difficult to adapt to such limited space and at the same time be economically practical in their structure and efficiency in operation.